An Eye For An Eye
by Haberdashing
Summary: One-shot set in the Transcendence AU (transcendence-au on tumblr). A sick teenage boy gets help from an unexpected source.


A teenage boy slowly walked around a chalk circle that he had drawn in the attic that was currently lit only by a single circular window, setting down stubby red candles and lighting them with pine-scented matches one by one. The boy was short, bald, and pale, with a gaunt and bony face. He wore a long-sleeved black shirt, a mustard yellow hoodie, and navy blue sweatpants that eclipsed his feet and dragged along the dusty floor, each article of clothing several sizes too big, the heavy baggy clothing only partially able to hide away his exceptionally thin figure. He panted with every step, and after lighting the last of the candles, he decided to sit cross-legged on the floor rather than continue standing. Maybe then the one that he summoned would not notice how his limbs were shaking, and how he shivered despite the room's warmth.

The boy closed his eyes as he struggled to remember the chant, starting to regret not writing down the words before his smartphone had lost its battery. As he spoke each word, the feeling in his gut that he was doing something wrong grew and grew… but anything had to be better than nothing at this point, right?

A moment passed. The boy's heart raced. He heard a gust of wind with no source whip around the room, he heard the crackle of the candle fires growing louder, and he heard… was that dripping?

The boy opened his eyes.

Standing in front of him now was not the grand, glowing, thousand-eyed demon that he had expected. In fact, it took the boy a minute to process what _was _currently in front of him in the middle of the summoning circle, and even then he was starting to wonder if his sight was deceiving him once again. Much of its body was composed of what appeared to be a human heart, and the rest of its shape was similarly filled with bloody, bare body parts of all types, their origins indeterminate (and, given the circumstances, the boy knew better than to inquire about their source). But strangest of all was the shape that this compilation of organs formed. The creature, when taken in at a single glance, appeared to be… a duck.

A duck that was currently oozing blood all over the summoning circle.

The boy had had a speech all planned out for after the demon he was summoning had arrived, but he had not prepared for this. Instead of the thought-out words that he had gone over in his head many times until he was certain that they would serve as a proper greeting for such a powerful demon, the boy stammered, "You're not… uh… I mean, you're definitely not… well… I guess… I'm sorry, but who _are _you?"

The response came immediately, though its source was unclear, as none of its body parts seemed to be shifting any more than before. "I̗͚̹̺͚̪̾ͨ̉̏ ͕̳̟ͬ̍̚A̙̪̙̭̣ͧ̆̓̿̇͒M̻̄ ͭB̴̤̻͙͍ͅRI̬͍̼͖͖͋ͦ͒̒ͣ̋A̞̯̒͐̇̐̎Ṉ̩̲̹̗͓͌̋͊͆̚,̧̞ͮ̊ ̝̘̪̬̰ͅT̘̳ͯͬ̊ͨ͂ͮ͢H̢̠̮̱̬͙͌̔͛͑̽E̤͍̻͙̪͙̲̔́ ̢͔͉̭͖Õ̶̰̦̟͎̼̟Ȑ͛ͧ͏̹͇̘̺͇G̨̝͉̳͙̯̳̭̾͌͐̽ͩ̚A̢N̬͑̅ͦ͒ͨ͌ͅ ̨͚̝̱͔͍́D̨̥͈̜̎Ü̞̋̚͠C̯̹̳͓̼K̴̞͈̐̍ͤ̃ͬ͒̊ ̳͚͎̠͕̞͌̇̃͊̆͠D͉͈É̪͒͒̒͐͋M̜̠̓͆O̴̳̯͑͑͆N̯̝͙̟̳͋̇͒̂̚͠!̫̜̦̳͔̠̏͊͡

The boy had to suppress a laugh, mindful of his guest's power. But it was… he was speaking to a _duck_. Sure, demons took all sorts of shapes, he knew that, but it still seemed like a rather odd choice. And as the demon's words echoed through the attic, rattling its flimsy wooden walls, the boy couldn't help but smile as he recalled the old yarn saying that the quack of a duck never echoed. Well, _this _duck's voice certainly had an echo to it!

"So, uh, Brian, I hate to tell you this, but I didn't actually mean to summon you-"

The duck blinked as it interrupted the boy. "Ţ͇͔̹̤̍̋̑ͅH͈̞ͬ͌ͨ͂͆͆ͯ͞ͅA͙͂̂͛ͥ̎͋Ṫ͕̩̜̋ ͙̝̺̓͜D̢̪͛̈́Ó͉͗͝ͅE̯͍̺̱̗͉̓͝S̖̝̺̻̘̮̏͋ͩ ̄͐͋̒̂͡N̘̫̣͖͓̔O͎̥̼̙̔͛̈̉͌ͩͮͅT͉͙̬͙͚̼̿ͪ͛̆̂ͮ͋ ̠̣̜S̠̭̤̟͓̙ͭ̾U̻R̻P̺͙͎͔̄͛̓̐̍R̔̆͟Ḯ̯͊͆͆́̚Ș̣͕̱̟̰E͎̝̖͚̪ͤ̚ ̛̯̬̽̏͗͐MͯĖ̡͙͙̂́̂͋̒,̘̚ ͕̣͇̮͙̈̿̇͛C̥͓͈̥̲̰ͯ͟H͌ͦͭÏ̻͙̱L̦̣̫̗͉͙͍̎ͩͮ̃D̠͂͢.̵͍̤̗̜̭͔͛̄̓̎ ͈̱̪͂̋̌ͩ̇ͯR͎̓A̔ͨ̋Rͤ͋ͩ́̉̉͊E̦͇͍͋L̫͚̼̮͉̠̣̏̂̀ͦͯͤ̈Ỵ̧̲͔͍͇̞ͥ̓͌ ̡̓̈A̓͛̌ͭ͞M̼̤̮̘͍̒̽̆ͤ̊̆͗ ̰̹͍̲̹ͪͦI̬̬͚͍͙ͫ ̣͒ͪT̃ͤH̝̘ͪͮͦͮͯ͑̋E̬̩̖̎ͩ̒ ̨̌͑ͮȌ̈́̓ͨN̙͔͍̮̱̣̙E̝͖͇̠̎̉̏ ̤̟͆̀̔̎T̵͖͖̥͉͒̅ͭ̎͋Ḫ̢̭ͮ̏ͣ̆̔̍ͬȂ̭̻̩͖͒ͅͅT̳̤͎̦ͫ ̋ͣ̇̆̈ͧ͏̠̹̭ͅͅH̱̖͚͉͐͒̎ͬ̎̀̚Ũ̸̠͎̲̋̆̅͑̐M̻͇̫̰̟̬̖̆̀̍̾̍̕Ȁ͈̀͊̏͞N͇̞̠̼SͯͭͧL̯̹̠̗̫͉̣͛̏I̧̤̭̥̅̄ͣK̂ͨ̂̊͛Ë͎̥̙̲͙̭̅ͪ ̻͆̀ͦ̒ͤͧͥ͝Y̼̫̩̦͉̼ͤ̒ͮO͙̜͎͕̱̮ͮ̀̈̿͋U̠̭ͦ̃̈́̔ͥR̡͎͕̪͗̒S̻͇̥̹ͪ̑͑È͈̻L̼͖͚͎̙̼̃̑̎̑F̵̠̦̦̆ ̣̱̭̤̣̫̂̎̏ͨ̏ͪ͗͠W͇̺̱̣͔̔͗I̮̜̠͘S̞H̆ ̀T̯̣̰͓̯̂͐̽̔ͤ͂̀O̭͓͑̋͂͛ͣͨ ̓̐̏͏̬̮̻̘C̟̿̿́̅̉͟A̗̻̲̝̳̺̺͌̍ͦͮ̏̚Ļ͎̺̭̘̹̓̑ͬͣ̓̂L͍̫̹̲̪̆ ̅ͤ̃͗U̗̻ͫͦͨ́̽P̡̰̼̺̘̞ͣƠ̞̥̤͙̮̇ͮ̒ͧ͐N̜̦̟͙̤̐ͣͮ.͍̪̗͚̳̗̼ͤͩ"

"I, uh, well, okay. But you said that you're a… an organ duck…" Don't laugh. Don't laugh. Laugh and he'll probably kill you. He's a demon. He may look… unorthodox for the part, but he is still definitely a demon. _Do not laugh._ "So that means that you deal with organs, right? So maybe you'll still be able to help me out."

The demonic duck gurgled and tilted his… well, it was certainly some sort of appendage. Was that a head? It kind of looked like a head, but it was hard to be sure when looking at such a strange creature.

The boy continued. "See, I… I have cancer in my left eye. The doctors say it's a miracle it hasn't spread to other parts of my body when it's this far along, and the treatments aren't really helping that much, and I don't think my dad can afford much more of it, and I just… I just thought… Demons like human flesh, right? So I was hoping somebody- I guess you now- could just, well, take my eye, and take the cancer with it, and then do… well, you could do whatever demons do with body parts, and then I wouldn't be sick, and it'd work out for everybody?"

Another blink, another gurgle. "Á͉̘͍͖͐ͦ̔ͦN̵̗̻̖̣͉ͧ̔̅ͅḌ̖͈̬͍̀ ̆͂͊ͩ͛W̼̪͎̜͈͖̻͢H͉̐ͯ͞A̸ͨ̓̈́T̘͖̮̫̝̳͗̓ ̡̝̮̹͙̭̘̺ͪ̔̚W͔͎͎̖̼̹͂͑̓ͅO͈̘͖̙̝͙̥̓̓ͯ́U̗̰̯̙̭̎́ͥ̎͂̌L̯̲̤̙̼̓̃̐͗̓D̴ͧ ̴̺͓̝͇͇͗ͯͨY̪͂̂̊͠Ö̟ͫ͜Ủ̼͇͈̣̺̅̋ͫͭͣ͘ ̡̯͍͓̭́̔̋ͭ̓̚W̹̅̋̾Á̹̪̖̦̯̟̣ͯ͝N̦̲̰̻̓̋ͥͫ̈T̝̩ ̄̔ͩ̚͡F̴͕̫̭̱̩͙̊̒͊ͅR̙̖̭͕̋̑O̺͆ͬ́̓̑M̴̮̙͈͔̬̙͙ͭͥ̏͂ ̹̣̦̟̟̖ͣ̾ͧͨM͊ͤE̝̅̐̍ͤ̂ I̵̫͖̘̞̳̜̾ͥ͋ͫͥ̂̚N̗̰̒ͅ ͕̾̔Ềͥ̑̈ͯ̑͢X͎͙̜͈̑͒͗̽ͩ̅C̬̰̓̌̐͛̆͌͝H̓ͨ͏͈̮A͛ͣÑ̝̥͔͓͆ͬͥͮ̿G̺̻͉̫̬̅͘E͊̐?̮͚̻̱̝͔ͧ"

"Well, I was just thinking…" The boy felt like he could hear everything now. He heard his blood rushing, his heart racing, the candles crackling, the wind pushing against the attic walls, and, of course, the demon duck's constant gurgling and dripping. The blood had now formed a thin layer that stretched across the entire summoning circle, yet the demon seemed no smaller after having lost it. Must be one of those magic demon things, he supposed. "I mean, if you took the whole eye, I'd be all better, so that'd probably be enough for me to get out of the deal. Unless, uh, unless you had something else in mind?"

The boy knew as soon as the words left his mouth that he should not have said them. Leaving open such an opportunity to a demon was only a good idea if you had a death wish. Sure, if the demon- Brian, the boy recalled, his name was Brian- if Brian offered up an idea, it would supposedly be something to benefit the boy rather than himself, but there were all sorts of ways that demons could twist around even what seemed to be totally innocent deals.

The room went silent, and somehow, that filled the boy with more dread than the demon's dark, echoing voice ever could.

"I̴͖̮͚̦̦͉̙̋̈́͗ͮ̈́͐ ̧̣̫̳͔͔̣̝̐͐H̼̀ͣ̃͌̽A̞͖̯͆͛̓̈́ͭV̫̫̙̞͔ͣ͂͐̈́̈́E̗̥͛͊ͨ ̧̺͈ͣ̑̊̃̒ͅA̼̲̜͓͎̮ͪ͗̀N̰̫̺̹̣̽̂ͩͨͣͫ͠ ̹̱̠̱̦͓̂̓̎ͦͣͧ̚I͙̣̲̜̲ͪ̓͒͘D͋͞É͚̫̟̳̪̜Ȁ̡̰̟̈ͧ̈́̊̚.̺ͥ̏̐̎̀"

"Really, Brian, you don't have to do anything else for me, just taking my eye- my _left _eye- would be enough of a benefit for me as well as for you…" The boy's words rushed out rapidly as he tried desperately to correct the opportunity that he had mistakenly left open for the demon.

"N̹̥͓͖͖̜͋̐ͬͩ̚Oͮ̔͒̋͞.̮ͣ͗͟ͅ"

The boy shivered more intensely than ever before. The room felt like it was covered in ice and snow, even though the warm summer air kept seeping in through the cracks in the walls. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and his blood ran cold. Should he speak up again, try to salvage the deal before it was irreparably sabotaged? Or would Brian just take him speech as a threat and make things all the worse for him for having dared to challenge him? The boy decided, after a minute of contemplation, to remain silent for the time being.

"YOU ͝SH͜ÁLL̵ ́LO͏S͝E YOŲR EY͠E,̡ ̵A͘N͝D̕ W̕ITH ̶ÌT̨ T̢H̴E̡ ̷ŚIG͜HT̀ TH͞AT͏ I̧T ̢G͜RAN̴T̡ED ͞Y̛OU. B̀ÚT ̴I ŚHALL͏ ̸FÀS̡H̛ION ͝YOƯ ̵A N̢EW ̴E͡YE,́ A͢N ͜E̢Y͢E ͟O̸F͜ P̵UR͜E̷ ͡GOLD, AND ONE͝ ̴T͘H͜A͞T̴ SHALL̸ G͝RAN͡T ́Y̡OU͘ ͝ANO͟TH̴ER TYPE O̕F͜ SIGH́T̴, T̡H͝È ̡SIG̵HT͡ TH͘AT ̧A͢L͜L̕O̧W͜S̕ ME͏R͝E ͟MOR͠T̷A̛LS LI͜KE ͏YOURS̸EL̨F͜ ̨T̕O ͢S̢EE͜ M͠E A͏ND̢ M̡Y͝ K͠I̡N.̨ AŅ ́EYE̡ FOR A͠N̴ E̢YE,̶ ̛A ̀SÍG̵H͢T͏ FƠR A S͢ÌGH̷T. D͟OE̕S̷ T͠HIS ́S͡OUND ͞L͟IK̶É ͟AN̡ ͞AC͠CE͢P͡TA̴B͡LE ̕D̢EAL͟ TO ̡ỲOU͡, ̕C͠HI͠LD̴?̧"

Was it just his imagination, or did the demon's voice sound less… demon-y? The sound still held a slight echo, in the way that a normal duck's quack (supposedly) never could, and it still sounded low and dark, but… something about it sounded different to the boy. He couldn't tell if it was good different or bad different, but it was definitely _different_.

The boy took a few minutes to consider the offer. He had, admittedly, been dreading the change in his appearance that would come with the loss of an eye, and perhaps the addition of a golden eye would help to mitigate the damage. But the idea of gaining the Sight… it was an intriguing one, to be sure. He had heard that some with the Sight had run into terrible fates because of it, stumbling upon scenes that were never meant to be seen by human eyes and paying the ultimate price for their trespass… yet he had also heard that there was a certain beauty to be found in it, in knowing what others could only guess, in seeing what only the privileged few could ever see.

Finally, his mind was made up.

"We have a deal."

The boy extended his hand, but the demon made no move to reciprocate the gesture, or indeed to move from his spot in the center of the summoning circle (which was now ankle-deep in rotting blood) at all. Instead, the candle flames flared up, the chalk lines of the summoning circles glowed with red light, and the room filled with the smell of burning meat. The boy's left eye filled with a sudden heat, which was then replaced with a dull coolness and weight. The vision on the left side of his line of sight went dark, as he had known it would, but as he looked straight at the demon duck, trying to avoid smiling at the sheer absurdity of the sight or grimacing at its ugliness, he saw that around the edges of its body was a faint pink aura.

A pink aura. What did the demon's pink aura mean? The boy had never bothered learning much about the Sight before, so he had only the faintest thoughts of what the implications of the aura's soft and warm hue could be. He would have to look it up once he left the attic. He would, he supposed, have to look up a lot of things now.

The demonic duck's body began to flicker and fade.

"Thank you, Brian." The boy murmured under his breath.

Just before the demon duck vanished out of the circle altogether- and, thankfully, took the large pool of blood that it had generated with him- it called out a faint reply.

"Y̷O̸U̷ ̷A̸RE̛ ̧MƠS͢T W̢ELC͝OM̴E."


End file.
